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Book Notes: Battle for the Big Top
I remember seeing the circus when I was young – probably around first grade or maybe younger. Curiously it’s one of the few childhood memories I have retained as I don’t remember much of that time. It was in the long gone Forbes Field in Pittsburgh – the site of the University of Pittsburgh business… Continue reading
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Genii Renewal
I received my annual email from Genii that my subscription was expiring this month. I’ve been a subscriber for close to thirty years and a reader for many more years. When I lived in Western Pennsylvania, I would visit my favorite magic shop and the latest Genii was a regular purchase. Since moving west, I’ve… Continue reading
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Book Notes: MaddAddam
MaddAddam is the final book in Margaret Atwood’s trilogy of the same name. Like its predecessors, the novel takes place in a world of climate change, the aftermath of a deadly plague, and the consequences of genetic engineering. While Oryx and Crake was Jimmy aka Snowman’s story and The Year of the Flood focused on… Continue reading
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Cataracts
One of the “features” of getting older is cataracts. It’s a condition where the lens of the eye becomes cloudy. It’s a slow process so like many slow building things, you don’t notice the change readily. My optometrist told me a few years ago that I was developing cataracts but it wasn’t time for the… Continue reading
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Book Notes: The Year of the Flood
This is the second novel in the MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood. Like Oryx and Crake, I read this about twenty years ago. However time and many other books have written over my memory and it was all new again. The Year of the Flood focuses on the lives of two women, Ren and Toby,… Continue reading
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Book Notes: Comedy, Character & Control
This is not my typical magic book to read as I have always struggled with the idea of a comedy magician. (Aside: I also have a struggle with magicians who bill themselves as motivational speakers but that’s best left for another day.) I believe that magic is inherently funny – weird and unusual things happen… Continue reading
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The Disclaimer
Last week Tom Dobrowolski announced to subscribers and Genii forum readers that the monthly magazine, The Disclaimer, is coming to an end. The Disclaimer has lasted a little four and a half years with an almost perfect on time record. Each issue had three close-up effects from a group of high quality magicians: Tom, Curtis… Continue reading